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1 Minute Bread Machine Recipe

The moment we got our first bread machine was the moment my life changed forever.

Bread machines perform 21st century alchemy. Just stick about 50 cents worth of ingredients into it, go away for a few hours, and BOOM! A 5 dollar loaf of hot fresh bread is waiting for you. Thanks Taran from Dollar Eater for finding the per-loaf cost for us.

However! Bread machines have one major flaw – few people know how to use them to make adequate bread. Getting our first bread machine to make good bread was an exercise in frustration and dismay. For months we tried recipe after recipe, always ending up with the same thing – a burnt brick of rock-hard particle board.

It’s an extremely common problem. That’s why the majority of bread machines are only used once, then abandoned. Most people who buy a bread machine think it’ll be a great idea until they run into the same problem I did again and again. They get discouraged and the bread machine ends up collecting dust on the shelves of a thrift store. 300,000,000 of them are resigned to this fate in the U.S alone.

I created this infographic to detail my bombproof bread machine recipe that works every time on every bread machine. I’ve taught this recipe to family members and friends, and they all make bread this exact way now – and have cumulatively saved thousands of dollars so far on bread. Today I’m teaching it to you to inspire you to do the same.

I’m hoping this bread machine recipe helps unused bread machines all across America start living out the productive lives they were built to live.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page to skip the details and get right to printable recipe.

Here’s the text version of the recipe you can copy, paste and print out. You’re free to cherish it forever.

1 Minute Bread Recipe

Using any bread machine, add the following in this exact order.

1+ cup warm water

1 tb sugar

2.25 tsp active dry yeast

3 tb gluten inside 3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup oil

…and press go.

Once you master this dead simple recipe, you can begin to experiment. Try using honey instead of sugar, or using a nice organic spelt flour instead of the cheap Costco stuff. My favorite addition to bread is some fresh chopped rosemary.

Did you catch the part about gluten? It’s of crucial importance to a good loaf but will be the hardest ingredient to find. A lot of the time when I ask grocery clerks where their gluten is, they point me to their gluten free aisle which is not what I asked for at all!!

I usually find my gluten in health food stores like Whole Foods. My favorite gluten to use is from Bob’s Red Mill which – thank the internet gods – is now available to buy in bulk from Amazon.

I make bread constantly and have burnt out many bread machines along the way. The one that worked best for me so far has been this one from Cuisinart.

Also check out my 1 minute wine tutorial which will teach you how set up a batch of wine just as quickly as a loaf of bread!

35 thoughts on “1 Minute Bread Machine Recipe”

I, too live in a desert and have many neighbors who also live completely off the grid. Most have not enough solar power for the bake cycle but we do have propane ovens. If you use the manual setting on your bread machine it mixes everything but does not bake. You can then bake in the oven. Walmart sells wheat gluten here.

We used to bake bread in a solar oven when we lived in Denver! Some days it worked GREAT and other days it was just a little too cold and instead of baking, the bread would rise waaaaaaay too much and fill the entire solar oven.

Just curious, why is it that the booklet that came with my machine- and pretty much every other recipe I’ve read- say to always put all the liquids in first, then the solids, and always the yeast on top? I’ve always figured the order doesn’t matter unless you use the delay timer, but maybe there’s a reason my bread always comes out simultaneously gooey and so dry it crumbles to bits….

I don’t know why these booklets recommend this!!! Realising that this order was wrong was an important step in developing this recipe.

In both bread making and beer making there is a concept called a “yeast starter” – which is essentially 3 ingredients. Yeast, warm water and sugar. The yeast starter is made beforehand and allowed to bubble and froth for 30 minutes before you begin making your bread. Or beer.

Putting water, sugar, then yeast in your bread machine first and in that order mimics the “yeast starter” concept without all the fuss of starting in a separate container.

In addition, many bread machines have a 30 minute pre-heat cycle which is the perfect amount of time for a yeast starter to froth up and become vigorous.

I have found that for the most part, the booklets that come with bread machines offer mostly bad advice and bad recipes. Whenever I get a new bread machine, I tend to throw the booklet away without even opening it.

But yes you are right – it’s best to keep your water and yeast separate IF you are “scheduling your bread” overnight. Which I’ve never done – have you?

So, I lost your link right after you answered my question because I’m lame like that. Anyway, super late response: yes, I usually put the ingredients in and set the delay timer the night before. I have to get up super early in the morning if I’m going to go for a run, and there’s nothing like a house full of ‘fresh baked bread’ smell to get you out of bed! Thanks for clarifying the order for me.

I used the Breadman Pro for years and always used the recipe book that came with it and I never had a bad batch of bread. It was great and I highly recommend it. I quit eating bread so I gave the machine to my daughter.

Yes but you will most likely still need to add gluten to make your flour into bread flour. You can actually make your own gluten if you can’t find it or don’t want to buy it. Here is the process I would use: http://www.eatingrules.com/2011/10/how-to-make-seitan/ Just don’t cook the gluten like the article suggests, you want to make bread not sietan.

Yes it should. Bread flour is much higher in gluten than ordinary flour. I do know people who still add a tablespoon of gluten to each loaf they make with bread flour but it should still work fine without extra gluten.

WOW ! I know your post was “old” but I am going to comment anyway. It was so fun to read ! I’m going to try and find my ‘ol bread machine, yep purchased at a re-sale shop and give your recipe a try. I like a ‘cruchey’ bread, usually buy a 7 grain. I’m wondering how much “stuff” I can add and it still work ?

You can add quite a lot actually. It may work better to add it when your machine gives you the “mix-ins” beep instead of right at the beginning. You may need a little more moisture if you add a lot of grains, but I would keep everything else the same.

This post made me giggle. I love using my bread machine to make bread and to make bread dough, I know, I know, why use it if you are going to just make dough! Why because sometimes I like to be artsy and form my bread into long loaves or braids, silly me! Anyways, I digress, this is really good advice, and I hope you post more recipes!

Coarse will work great – and pastry flour should work good too. For best results I would use at least some of the coarser stuff mixed in with the pastry stuff. Also pastry flour might be higher in gluten already so you may not need to add quite as much. Check the protien content to see.

I hate to say it, but I bombe this recipe:( I’m using a bread master hitachi…I live in the high desert so I added the extra water like you said, and it pulled a Rome, rose then fell. Anyway, I decided since I live in the HIGE desert, maybe I should just stick with the normal amount of water…so, here we are, round two. If it doesn’t work out I give up lol

Don’t give up so quickly! It took me about 10 failed loaves for this recipe to develop and finally click. If your bread is falling try reducing the amount of yeast. You can check for the right amount of moisture by checking the ball, if it’s crumbly it’s too dry and if it’s sticky it’s too wet. Perfect bread dough should feel like a butt cheek.

Hello Trevor. I usually just read the recipes but you are so entertaining I read the whole page and even the comments! I am fairly new to baking and my pantry usually only has all-purpose bleached or unbleached flour. Since I’m not sure what exactly you mean by wheat flour…..can I use one of the all-purpose types? Forgive my ignorance please…and thanks!

My husband laughed so hard when he saw the part in the instructions about “you remembered to put your paddle in, right?” because guess what I forgot last time? Talk about particle board. I had gone all fancy and bought barley flour, too. Boo.

I am excited to try the bombproof recipe, but I have never had a problem with either of my bread machines with putting all the liquid in first. If I am using a new recipe, I will watch as the mixture starts to make sure it forms a ball first before adding more liquid. I have quit using bread flour as I don’t care for the texture. I use a mixture of bread flour and all purpose, but will probably just use all all-purpose in the future.

An answer for the previous poster. I’ll answer that one for you……… No. Self-rising flour is for making quick breads and has baking soda(powder) and salt added to make it rise. Only an experienced baker – like my mother – can get away with using self-rising flour and yeast in the same batch. :) Good luck.